Bottle spout

ABSTRACT

A spout ( 2 ) of a bottle ( 1 ) is provided on the inner side thereof with a partition ( 3 ) for dividing the space inside the spout into a liquid effluent part ( 5 ) and an air influent part ( 6 ). The partition is connected to and integrated with the spout. The space inside the spout divided by the partition is opened in the opening face of the spout toward the outer direction on both the liquid effluent part side and the air influent part side. The partition on the air influent part side is directed toward the interior of the bottle and continued to the inner wall of the spout and closed in the form of a bag. The partition is provided on the trailing part thereof with an air hole ( 4 ) connecting the air influent part and the interior of the bottle. When a person applies his lips to the liquid effluent part and tilts the bottle so as to lower the liquid effluent part, the drinking water in the bottle flows into his mouth through the liquid effluent part. As a result, the pressure inside the bottle is lowered and the air is caused to flow into the bottle via the air hole in the air influent part. Since the drinking water flowing out of the bottle and the air flowing into the bottle do not collide, the drinking water is smoothly and continuously poured into the mouth.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a bottle spout. More particularly thisinvention relates to a spout of a bottle or other such container, whichpermits comfortable swallow or smooth pour of the liquid held therein.

BACKGROUND ART

When a person directly applies his mouth to the spout of a bottlecontaining drinking water or a refreshing beverage and swallows thedrink, the drink flowing out of the bottle and the air flowing into thebottle collide in the neighborhood of the spout and compel the drink toproduce an undulating motion. The undulating drink possibly chokes theperson swallowing the drink or scatters in the surrounding environment.When a person riding on a vehicle in motion and feeling the need for adrink directly from a bottle attempts to put his mouth to part of thespout of the bottle instead of wrapping his mouth wholly around the topof the bottle, the drink inside the bottle possibly jumps up and downand spills.

With the object of preventing the drink in a bottle from emitting aswirling motion during the course of release from the bottle, JP-A HEI10-119974 proposes a spouting aid which is constructed by forming apartition adapted to divide the spout of a bottle for a drink anddirected toward the interior of the bottle and concealing one of thedivided parts of the spout with a covering part provided with aventilating hole so as to prevent the drink from producing a swirlingmotion and flowing out on the ventilating hole side.

When a person desiring to take the drink from the bottle that isfurnished with this spouting aid applies his mouth to the opening partof the spout, he encounters difficulty in taking the drink because hisupper lip is pressed by the covering part. When he attempts to take thedrink by applying his mouth to the opening part in such a state that hisupper lip may lightly touch the covering part and avoid being pressed,he cannot manage to take the drink satisfactorily because the drinktends to overflow the gap between the mouth and the opening part of thebottle. When he elects to take the drink by wrapping his mouth whollyaround the spout, he succeeds in preventing the drink from spilling at asacrifice of the effect produced by the ventilating hole, with theresult that the drink will produce an undulating motion in theneighborhood of the spout.

This invention has been initiated in the light of such a true state ofaffairs as mentioned above. It is aimed at providing a bottle spout thatensures a smooth outflow of the drink held in the bottle and befits thepurpose of allowing a consumer to take the drink from the bottle bydirectly applying his mouth to the spout of the bottle.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bottle spout that,by virtue of a tilt of the bottle, enables the drink held in the bottleto be smoothly released without emitting an undulating motion to theexterior.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a bottle spoutthat can be easily fitted to a ready-made bottle and enabled to have thedrink in the bottle easily taken and decently swallowed and releasedsmoothly.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a spout of a bottle having a partitionintegrated therewith for dividing a space inside the spout into a liquideffluent part and an air influent part, which are opened toward an outerdirection in an opening face of the spout, the partition having a partthat extends on a side of the air influent part toward an interior ofthe bottle and is continued to an inner wall of the spout and closed ina bag form, and having in a trailing part thereof an air hole thatconnects the air influent part and the interior of the bottle.

The present invention further provides a spout of a bottle having apartition integrated therewith in an anterior part thereof for dividinga space inside the spout into a liquid effluent part and an air influentpart, which are opened toward an outer direction in an opening face ofthe spout, the partition having a part that extends on a side of the airinfluent part toward an interior of the bottle and is continued to aninner wall of the spout and closed in a bag form, having in a trailingpart thereof an air hole that connects the air influent part and theinterior of the bottle and having in a posterior part thereof a mountingpart that mounts the spout onto a spout of a ready-made bottle.

In the bottle spout, the partition has an anterior terminal face formedin a circular shape having a diameter smaller than that of the spout orin a shape having a central part thereof curved upwardly in a statewherein the air influent part falls above the liquid effluent part.

In the bottle spout, the partition has an anterior terminal face curvedinwardly of the interior of the bottle.

When a user of a bottle provided with a spout of the constructiondescribed above applies his mouth to the opened terminal of the liquideffluent part of the bottle and tilts the bottle till the liquideffluent part falls below the air influent part, the drink in the bottleflows through the liquid effluent part into the user's mouth and the airflows into the space formed in the bottle via the air hole in the airinfluent part.

The drink is smoothly and continuously poured into the mouth because nocollision occurs between the drink flowing out and the air flowing in asdescribed above. Therefore, the user swallows the drink decently andcontentedly without overflowing his mouth.

When the bottle provided with the spout of the construction describedabove is tilted till the liquid effluent part thereof reaches a lowlevel as described above, the drink in the bottle is released throughthe liquid effluent part to the exterior and the space eventually formedinside the bottle admits the air via the air hole, with the result thatthe drink will be smoothly and continuously released without forming anundulating motion in the neighborhood of the spout.

Further, since the spout of the construction described above is providedin the posterior part thereof with a mounting part that is capable ofeasily mounting the spout of the aforementioned construction onto aspout of a ready-made bottle, the drinking water in the ready-madebottle can be likewise swallowed or discharged to the exterior withoutthreatening any bounce thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the basic construction of aspout of a bottle according to this invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the spout of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken through FIG. 2 along line III-III.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating an example having a plurality of airholes disposed in the trailing terminal of a partition in the spout of abottle according to this invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating an example having the partition ofthe spout of a bottle according to this invention formed in the upperpart of the spout in a state wherein an air influent part thereof fallsabove a liquid effluent part thereof.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a spout of a bottle according to thisinvention, illustrating an example having provided therein a partitionwhose anterior face is formed in a curved shape.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a spout of a bottle according to thisinvention, illustrating an example having provided therein a partitionwhose anterior face is formed in a circular shape having a diametersmaller than that of the spout.

FIG. 8 is a cross section illustrating another example of the partitionin a spout of a bottle according to this invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating yet another example of thepartition in a spout of a bottle according to this invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross section illustrating one example of the state ofhaving a spout of a bottle according to this invention mounted on aready-made bottle.

FIG. 11 is a cross section illustrating another example of the state ofhaving a spout of a bottle according to this invention mounted on aready-made bottle.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

This invention will be described in detail below with reference to thedrawing attached hereto.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the basic construction of aspout 2 of this invention integrated with a main body 1 of a bottle,FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a cross section takenthrough FIG. 2 along line III-III.

The spout 2 is provided with a partition 3 for dividing the space insidethe spout into a liquid effluent part 5 and an air influent part 6, thepartition being integrated with the spout, the liquid effluent part 5side and the air influent part 6 side both being opened toward the outerdirection in the opening face of the spout, the partition 3 beingintegrated with the inner wall of the spout 2 and closed on the airinfluent part 6 side in the form of a bag, and the partition 3 beingprovided in the trailing terminal thereof with an air hole 4 serving asa passage for advancing air from the air influent part 6 to the interiorof the bottle.

When a person needs the drink in the bottle which is provided with thespout having the construction described above, he poses the bottle so asto place the liquid effluent part 5 on the lower side as illustrated inFIG. 1, applies his mouth to the opened terminal of the liquid effluentpart 5 and tilts the bottle 1 and allows the drink in the bottle to flowthrough the liquid effluent part 5 into his mouth. As a result, thepressure inside the bottle becomes low as compared with the pressureoutside the bottle and the air is caused to flow into the bottle throughthe air hole 4 in the air influent part 6. Thus, the drink is smoothlypoured into the mouth continuously through the liquid effluent part anddecently swallowed by the user because the drink flowing out of thebottle and the air flowing into the bottle do not collide.

Particularly, when the user wraps the fluid effluent part of the bottlewith his mouth in such a manner that his upper lip may naturally enterthe spout on the air influent part side, he can swallow the drinkeasily. For the purpose of releasing the liquid held in the bottleprovided with the spout of the aforementioned construction, the user isrequired to tilt the bottle so that the air influent part may rise andthe liquid effluent part may fall. Consequently, the liquid in thebottle starts toward the exterior of the bottle through the liquideffluent part and the space consequently formed in the bottle admits theair via the air hole disposed at the trailing terminal of the partitionowing to the difference of air pressure. Thus, the liquid is smoothlyand continuously released without producing an undulating motion in theneighborhood of the spout.

The shape and size of the liquid effluent part 5 of the spout describedabove and the position, size, shape and number of the air hole 4 may befreely decided, depending on the kind of the drinking water and the sizeand design of the spout. The shape of the air hole, for example, doesnot need to be restricted to a perfect circle but may be selected fromamong various shapes, such as ellipse, triangle, pentagram and heart tosuit the purpose of use of the bottle or container. The number of airhole does not need to be limited to one. A plurality of air holes may bedisposed to suit the purpose of use of the bottle as illustrated in FIG.4. The air hole is preferred to be large for the purpose of enabling theuser to swallow the drink in a large amount at a time. If the air holeis unduly large, however, the overage will possibly result in sufferingthe drink to spill through the air hole when the bottle is tilted. Inthis case, the provision of a plurality of small air holes 4 asillustrated in FIG. 4 serves the purpose of suppressing the leakage ofthe drink.

The position of the partition 3 disposed in the spout 2 of the bottlementioned above is so selected as to intersect the center of the spoutin the construction of FIG. 1. When this position is so selected as tofall upward from the center as illustrated in FIG. 5, the liquideffluent part 5 is allowed to occupy a large volume and assume a shapesuitable for rapid swallow of the drink in a large amount. When thepartition is positioned downward from the center conversely from thepreceding case, the liquid effluent part 5 assumes a shape suitable forswallowing the drink in a small amount.

When the partition 3 is so shaped as to form an upwardly curved anteriorterminal face as illustrated in FIG. 6, the liquid effluent part 5assumes a shape resembling the shape of the user's mouth, allowing theliquid to gather copiously near the center of the liquid effluent partand enabling the user to swallow the drink in the bottle contentedlywithout spilling the drink.

Further, when the partition 3 is given the shape of a small circle asillustrated in FIG. 7, the liquid effluent part 5 fits easy wrap withthe user's mouth, allows control of the amount of the drink to bereleased and permits even a female user or an infant user to take thedrink without spilling it. Even in a vehicle in motion, this liquideffluent part 5 enables the user to swallow the drink similarlycontentedly without spilling the drink.

The partition can adopt an optimum shape to suit the kind of the drink,the purpose of use and the kind of the user, for example.

The partition 3 has a curved cross section in the example illustrated inFIG. 3. It may have a planar cross section instead as illustrated inFIG. 8.

When the anterior terminal face of the partition 3 disposed in the spoutwhich is touched by the user's mouth is given a shape dented and curvedinwardly of the interior of the bottle, the user's upper lip fits in thedent and the opened terminal of the liquid effluent part is naturallycovered wholly by the mouth so as to add further to the ease with whichthe drink inside the bottle is swallowed by the user.

The air hole 4 provided in the trailing terminal of the partition 3 maybe produced in advance by piercing at the time of production of thebottle. For the purpose of preventing the drink leaking through the airinfluent part 6 during the transportation of the bottle, however, it maybe formed by piercing at the time of removing the plug from the bottle.As a means to open the air hole 4 at the time of unplugging the bottleand using the drink therein, a method which comprises closing the partof the air hole 4 with a seal applied thereto on the air influent part 6side and peeling this seal at the time the drink is used and a methodwhich comprises forming the air hole 4 part in an easily cuttablecontour in advance and clipping the air hole 4 part at the time ofunplugging the bottle may be cited, for example.

The preceding examples invariably contemplate a spout of a bottle 1which has a partition 3 directly formed in the spout of the bottle andhas given rise to a liquid effluent part 5 and an air influent part 6.

By providing in the anterior part a spout 2 of a bottle possessing aliquid effluent part 5 and an air influent part 6 by virtue of apartition 3 and providing in the posterior part a cylindrical part 2′,as a mounting part for a spout 7 of a ready-made bottle 1′, that has onan inner peripheral surface thereof a depressed groove 9 helicallyfitted to a threaded part 8 or mounted onto an annular projection 8formed on the outer peripheral surface of the spout 7 of the ready-madebottle 1′ as illustrated in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, however, it is madepossible to mount the spout contemplated by this invention easily ontothe spout of the ready-made bottle and utilize the two spouts so joinedin the same manner as the spout of this invention integrated with themain body of a bottle. The resultant union enables the drink in thebottle to be swallowed satisfactorily by the user or the liquid in thebottle to be released smoothly to the exterior.

In the illustrated examples, the front face of the spout is depicted ina circular shape. The shape of the front face does not need to berestricted to such a circle but is only required to permit provision ofa partition serving to divide the inner space of the spout into a fluideffluent part and an air influent part. Thus, the shape may be properlyselected from among various shapes, such as ellipse, triangle, lemon andlips of a mouth, for example.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The spout of this invention for a bottle has the open face thereofdivided by a partition into a liquid effluent part and an air influentpart as described above. When the bottle is tilted so as to raise theair influent part and lower the liquid effluent part, the drink in thebottle flows into the user's mouth through the liquid effluent part. Thespace formed inside the bottle immediately admits the air via the airhole formed in the air influent part. Since the pressure is constantlyretained equally inside and outside the bottle, the drink is smoothlypoured into the user's mouth continuously through the liquid effluentpart without leaking through the gap between the mouth and the spout orproducing an undulating motion in the neighborhood of the spout. Theuser is enabled to swallow the drink easily and decently.

The bottle that is provided with the spout of this invention has only tobe tilted till the liquid effluent part is lowered in order that theliquid held therein may be smoothly released through the liquid effluentpart. Thus, it can be utilized advantageously when the liquid istransferred from a large bottle into a small bottle, for example.

Further, the spout of this invention for a bottle embraces beingprovided with a mounting part that can be easily mounted onto a spout ofa ready-made bottle. By mounting the spout of this invention onto thespout of the ready-made bottle, therefore, the user is enabled toswallow the drink in the bottle contentedly and release the liquid inthe bottle smoothly to the exterior.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A spout of a bottle comprising: a partition fordividing a space inside the spout into a liquid effluent part and an airinfluent part, which are opened toward an outer direction in an openingface of the spout, said partition including a part that extends on aside of the air influent part toward an interior of the bottle and iscontinued to an inner wall of the spout and closed in a bag form, andincluding in a trailing part thereof an air hole.
 9. A spout of a bottleaccording to claim 8, wherein said partition includes an anteriorterminal face formed in a shape having a central part thereof curvedupwardly in a state wherein the air influent part falls above the liquideffluent part.
 10. A spout of a bottle according to claim 8, whereinsaid partition includes an anterior terminal face formed in a circularshape having a diameter smaller than that of the spout.
 11. A spout fora bottle according to claim 8, wherein said partition includes ananterior terminal face curved inwardly of the interior of the bottle.12. A spout for a bottle according to claim 8, wherein said partition isprovided in a trailing terminal of the spout with a plurality of airholes.
 13. A spout of a bottle comprising: a partition in an anteriorpart of the spout for dividing a space inside the spout into a liquideffluent part and an air influent part, which are opened toward an outerdirection in an opening face of the spout, the partition including apart that extends on a side of the air influent part toward an interiorof the bottle and is continued to an inner wall of the spout and closedin a bag form, including in a trailing part thereof with an air hole andincluding in a posterior part thereof a mounting part that mounts thespout onto a spout of a ready-made bottle.
 14. A spout of a bottleaccording to claim 13, wherein said partition includes an anteriorterminal face formed in a shape having a central part thereof curvedupwardly in a state wherein the air influent part falls above the liquideffluent part.
 15. A spout of a bottle according to claim 13, whereinsaid partition includes an anterior terminal face formed in a circularshape having a diameter smaller than that of the spout.
 16. A spout fora bottle according to claim 13, wherein said partition includes ananterior terminal face curved inwardly of the interior of the bottle.17. A spout for a bottle according to claim 13, wherein said partitionis provided in a trailing terminal of the spout with a plurality of airholes.
 18. A spout for a bottle according to claim 13, wherein saidmounting part is a cylindrical part that is furnished on an innerperipheral surface disposed so as to continue into a trailing part ofsaid spout with a depressed groove helically fitted to a threaded partor mounted onto an annular projection disposed on an outer peripheralsurface of a spout of a ready-made bottom.